Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I The technology – how electronic devices work – digital systems and software
- 1 Genesis: Inventing electronics for the digital world
- 2 Building digital systems
- Part II Innovators, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists
- Part III Global reach, global repercussions
- Appendix 1.1 Smaller, faster, more efficient MOSFETs
- Appendix 1.2 Building multi-transistor logic gates
- Appendix 1.3 MOSFETs in memory devices
- Appendix 1.4 CMOS reduces logic gate power dissipation
- Appendix 1.5 Laser diode basics
- Appendix 1.6 Light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
- Appendix 1.7 Photodetectors
- Appendix 1.8 Making fiber optic cables
- Appendix 1.9 Principles of LCD displays
- Appendix 2.1 The demise of analog computers
- Appendix 2.2 IP, TCP, and the Internet
- Appendix 2.3 Building an object-oriented program
- Index
1 - Genesis: Inventing electronics for the digital world
from Part I - The technology – how electronic devices work – digital systems and software
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I The technology – how electronic devices work – digital systems and software
- 1 Genesis: Inventing electronics for the digital world
- 2 Building digital systems
- Part II Innovators, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists
- Part III Global reach, global repercussions
- Appendix 1.1 Smaller, faster, more efficient MOSFETs
- Appendix 1.2 Building multi-transistor logic gates
- Appendix 1.3 MOSFETs in memory devices
- Appendix 1.4 CMOS reduces logic gate power dissipation
- Appendix 1.5 Laser diode basics
- Appendix 1.6 Light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
- Appendix 1.7 Photodetectors
- Appendix 1.8 Making fiber optic cables
- Appendix 1.9 Principles of LCD displays
- Appendix 2.1 The demise of analog computers
- Appendix 2.2 IP, TCP, and the Internet
- Appendix 2.3 Building an object-oriented program
- Index
Summary
This book is about the creation and consequences of digital electronics.
Over the last half-century no other area of technical innovation has so drastically altered the way we live, work, and interact. Digital electronics give us instant access to a whole universe of information, and powerful tools to process it. They also equip us with an unprecedented ability to communicate instantly with people anywhere in the world.
I was privileged to contribute to these developments, first as a scientist engaged in creating new electronic devices and systems, and then as a venture capitalist involved in creating successful new businesses.
From these vantage points, I watched digital electronics grow from a technical specialization into a revolutionary force that generates new industries and transforms developing economies into global competitors, and does both seemingly overnight.
To sense the full extent of its impact, first visualize a contemporary scenario. A programming group in India is working on a project from the US. They are using computers built in China, with LCD displays made in Korea, driven by software from Silicon Valley and Germany. They communicate with colleagues in the US and other countries over the Internet, by e-mail and voice. It all seems quite normal today.
Now try to picture the same situation twenty-five years ago. You can't. There was little global sourcing of technical expertise then. High-tech manufacturing in developing Asian economies was just getting started. The major sources of equipment were Japan, the US, and Europe.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Competing for the FutureHow Digital Innovations are Changing the World, pp. 9 - 55Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007